As Japanese anime culture sweeps North America, Anime Expo has experienced a meteoric rise, this year attracting an estimated 390,000 fans of anime art, movies, games and products to the event, July 4-7, at the Los Angeles Convention Center. For SEGA and its subsidiary, ATLUS, as well as many exhibitors on the showfloor, ensuring that fans have opportunities to efficiently purchase limited-edition collectables, merchandise, and memorabilia is paramount.
The 40-foot by 90-foot SEGA x ATLUS booth addressed pain points around the shopping experience, while rising (literally) above the sea of graphics plays and cosplay across the show floor. “We were thrilled to be able to create immersive experiences for fans at Anime Expo this year… ” says Genna Hardeman, director-first party and events marketing at Sega of America, Inc. “We were able to provide numerous successful fan engagement opportunities for our community at the show, while also driving digital interactions.”
Here, we explore the three main focus points for the SEGA events team.
An eye-catching inflatable.
Fans couldn’t miss the 25-foot-tall replica of the Gauntlet Runner, a futuristic vehicle featured in SEGA’s all-new IP Metaphor: ReFantazio. Underneath the massive inflatable was a lounge featuring playable gaming demos. The custom designed and manufactured feature helped visually maximize the space without requiring one-time-use-only builds. We’re told the team may take the Gauntlet Runner to other shows this year, extending the life of the investment.
A ‘backwards’ store design.
Indeed, POS can be a major pain point for exhibitors at this sold-out event with fan engagement, queue lines, sales and fulfillment all taking place within a booth. The SEGA team designed its retail space first to optimize those activities, and then creatively filled in engaging experiences around it. While on the queue line and snaking through the store experience, attendees could see everything for sale virtually on screens. After placing an order at the window, the brand offered instantaneous fulfillment. “We were able to accommodate three times the number of guests this year just based on refining the experience even further from last year,” says Brad Tennesen, senior director-brand experience at 2Heads.
Moments that matter.
Upon arrival to the expo, attendees encountered a 11-foot-tall Seeker Statue for SEGA’s new IP, Metaphor: ReFantazio, a teaser experience of things to come in the SEGA x ATLUS booth. And at every corner of the booth, attendees encountered scenic photo ops and special guest Cosplay artists for photo moments—part of a “stop, stare and share” design strategy. Fans engaged with a cosplayer area for Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, and a cinematic photo op for Persona 3 Reload’s Episode Aigis DLC, which played off the storyline of the Dark Hour (a time anomaly that takes place at 12:00 a.m. as a hidden 25th hour). Fans received a special Persona 3-themed lanyard for their Anime Expo badge for taking part, a move that gave SEGA even more reach beyond the bounds of the booth. Partner: 2Heads
Scenes from SEGA x ATLUS at Anime Expo:
Photo Credit: 2Heads
